Spa 24 Hours Press Release

02/07/13 23:07

Jody Fannin, the rising star of British endurance racing, and JRM Racing will join forces for the 24 Hours of Spa, which takes place at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit on 27 – 28 July 2013. Jody will team up with Matt Bell, Charles Bateman and Humaid Al-Masaood behind the wheel of JRM’s #230 Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 Pro Am entry, giving JRM a formidable Pro Am line-up for the classic event, which will also be the fourth round of the 2013 Blancpain Endurance Series.

Jody, 19, contested the first round of the Avon Tyres British GT championship at Oulton Park in the JRM Racing Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 and has also contributed to the ongoing development of the car in a number of test sessions. He will also take part in the pre-24 Hours of Spa test with JRM Racing tomorrow to prepare for the challenges of the race.

Team principal, James Rumsey, commented, ‘Confirming Jody for Spa gives JRM one of the strongest Pro Am driver line-ups out there. We know him well from the British GT races and testing and have seen he is quick, committed and fits in well with the JRM mentality, which is to push to the end and polish every area for maximum gain. Thanks to his outings over the past six months, he understands the car and how to get the most from it so I am sure he will complement Matt, Charles and Humaid in the Pro Am Car very well. He also attended the Silverstone race to get to know everyone so Spa should see him hit the ground running. We’ve improved the car a lot since the first race in Monza and have also stepped up our testing for the longer distances, so I’m confident that this combination will achieve a very strong result.’

Jody, who is half South African, half British and named after 1979 F1 world champion Jody Scheckter, made his GT3 debut at the opening round of the British GT championship at Oulton Park in April. He finished in an impressive 12th in race one – even leading the race at one point – and 11th in race two, narrowly missing out on points due to a penalty applied for driving as a solo silver driver. Based in Surrey, UK, he took the British GT4 championship drivers’ crown in 2012 with partner Warren Hughes in a Ginetta G50 GT4, which earned him the rising star award from the prestigious British Racing Drivers Club at the start of 2013. He has also competed in the G50 class Ginetta GT Supercup, finishing third overall in 2011, and the Ginetta Junior championship in 2010, in which he finished the year as the top rookie with two wins.

Jody added, ‘I’m delighted to make my Spa debut with JRM, who I have got to know very well in the past six months thanks to the racing and testing activities I’ve carried out. I’ve seen first-hand how they, Matt, Charles and Humaid work in Blancpain: they are a strong, professional team who know how to get the most of the car, as they showed with the strong performance they put in at Silverstone last month. I feel like I know the car well and this will stand us in good stead for Spa, one of the toughest races out there. The Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 is good on the straights, which should carry over well to Spa where outright power really pays off. I can’t wait to get going.’

JRM has enjoyed a promising start to its debut Blancpain Endurance Series campaign, with the Pro Car claiming fourth position at the second race of the championship at Silverstone and a podium at the last race at Paul Ricard. While demonstrating pace over the ‘sprint’ races, JRM has also been reinforcing the car in 24 hour configuration, with a successful Spa simulation conducted at Portimao in May. Some 70 cars are expected for the Spa race, including the Ferrari 458 Italia, McLaren MP4-12C and Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

JRM will also field a Pro entry in Spa with Peter Dumbreck, Lucas Luhr and Steven Kane at the wheel.